The victim, named locally as father-of-three Gavin Garraway, in his 40s, is believed to have driven his black VW polo into a traffic light as he desperately tried to escape. He was left bleeding out with his foot on the accelerator.

Medics battled to save him but he was pronounced dead at the scene outside the Belle Vue Pub on Clapham High Street shortly after 2.30pm.

Nigel Gordon, a friend of Mr Garraway since childhood, described the 40-year-old victim as “a loving father”, saying: “I always had a lot of time for him. We moved in different circles but he was polite, courteous, always had a beaming smile and loved his kids immeasurably.”

Friends and relatives gathered on Streatham Common yesterday where they released balloons in memory of the 40-year-old, who is thought to have three children.

A witness to the attack said: “One of them was laughing. They were young, with no facial hair, you could see they were quite smartly dressed underneath their hooded tops.”

Police at the scene of the stabbing (Sally Biddall)

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Healy, who is leading the murder inquiry, said: “The suspects officers are working to trace are three males all of slim build seen leaving the area immediately after the attack.

“If you saw them or know who they are, I need you to get in touch with police urgently.”

There have been no arrests.

Mr Garraway’s murder was the 31st in London so far this year, and the third in as many days after 25-year-old Zahir Visiter was stabbed to death in St John’s Wood on Thursday evening.

His two killers mingled with unsuspecting worshippers at the London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park to escape police and a manhunt today continues.

The previous night, on Wednesday, 25-year-old Ramane Wiggan was shot dead after being chased into a block of flats in West Norwood.

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